1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing technology that is executed in information processing apparatuses such as game devices or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Background Technology
Game software is generally distributed and sold in the form of ROM media, such as, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, Blu-ray disks (Blu-ray is trademarked), or the like. Game software that is written on a ROM medium is not re-writable. Therefore, a patch file is applied in order to fix bugs included in part of the game software, modify functions, or add functions. The patent document 1 listed below discloses a game device that compares version information stored on a recording medium and version information included in a patch file, loads into memory a boot file to which newer version information is given, and executes the startup process of a game.
Patent document 1: US patent application: Publication No US2008/0141018.
The development of the Internet realizes an environment where patch files are distributed from a server to respective user terminals via the Internet. Traditionally, game software with which flaws are modified is also provided for users through the selling of ROMs that are re-mastered by incorporating patch files therein. On a re-mastered ROM, game software is saved in a form where patch files are applied thereon.
In case a user terminal acquires a patch file via the Internet and installs the patch file, since this patch file is to be stored in an auxiliary storage device, such as a hard disk drive or the like, path information for specifying a module is created in the patch file under the assumption that the patch file is stored in an auxiliary storage device. On the other hand, in the case of a re-mastered ROM medium, since all modules are saved on the ROM medium, path information is naturally created in accordance with the address of the ROM medium. Therefore, game software providers need to prepare different patch files for the case where patch files are provided via a server and for the case where patch files are provided by re-mastered ROM media. Further, in case a new patch file is provided through a server after re-mastering, a game software provider needs to undergo work of high maintenance by creating both of a patch file for the initial ROM media and a patch file for the re-mastered ROM media. Also, from a user's point of view, when installing a patch file via the Internet, a user downloads both of a patch file for the initial ROM media and a patch file for the re-mastered ROM media, and the user determines which patch file is to be used based on the ROM medium being used, which is not preferable with respect to both time and money.
Further, for example, trying to execute game software while using the initial ROM media after downloading a patch file for the re-mastered ROM medium may leads to a problem called the “skipping version” of patch files, whereby a patch file that is included in the re-mastered ROM medium does not exist in an auxiliary storage device.